Early in our homeschooling journey, someone put the book, Better Late Than Early, by Raymond & Dorothy Moore, in my hands, and it has invaded not only our homeschooling, but every area of our parenting. “Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” ~W.B. Yeats There is a general approach to education in […]

by Jess Connell · July 13, 2015 I’ve been a Pastor’s wife for three and a half years. The first two of those years, my husband was an administrative pastor, which was a very different thing from the counseling and discipleship pastoral role he has now. It’s not been very long, really, but it’s been long enough to […]

by Jess Connell · February 6, 2015 Well, today’s the due date. THE due date. The DUE date. But Luke is still inside, sticking his knobby knees out in alien movements that I feel with gasp-inducing clarity, and prying his little feet up into my ribs. And I can’t wait to meet him. Here’s one […]

by Jess Connell · August 7, 2015 Before we jump in, let me say: if you are not a homeschooler, this list is not meant for you. Please don’t read these– intended to *encourage* one group– and take it as if intended for you. It is not. Just as words intended to motivate a woman […]

1. THEY ARE PRECIOUS AS BABIES. PRECIOUS!!! We built a pen out of the cardboard box from a deck box. We taped it to the floor in a trapezoidal shape so they wouldn’t have any 90-degree corners to run into (and get suffocated by the others, which apparently can sometimes be a problem with small […]

One of my favorite passages in C.S. Lewis’ fiction is from his book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. For background, Eustace is a wretched, spoiled boy who constantly complains and makes life miserable for himself and everyone else. He’s unexpectedly come to Narnia with his cousins Edmund and Lucy. The ship they’re on visits several islands, and […]

by Jess Connell · June 24, 2015 On a post last year about the growing expectations on young woman to look physically perfect (and increasingly generic), a commenter wrote: Quick thought from a guy – Know what really hurts? When a girl spends a mountain of care and attention trying to win over exciting but […]

by Jess Connell · February 6, 2015 Well, today’s the due date. THE due date. The DUE date. But Luke is still inside, sticking his knobby knees out in alien movements that I feel with gasp-inducing clarity, and prying his little feet up into my ribs. And I can’t wait to meet him. Here’s one […]

Q: How do you get your kids to stay in their beds? Mine are continuously coming out until 10:00 some (a lot of) nights. So the time between 8:30 (when they go to bed) and 10:00 (when they finally fall asleep) is spent herding them back to bed, getting them drinks, laying down with them, etc. […]

As I’m typing this my daughter is practicing sixteenth-note scales on her violin. 1-e-&-a, 2-e-&-a,3-e-&-a, 4-e-&-a, and on and on it goes. Though her violin is in tune, and though she’s playing just as she should, it doesn’t yet sound proficient. Her sixteenth notes are uneven, and her finger placement lacks the precision required to […]

by Jess Connell · January 19, 2015 The holidays are over. The “magic” is gone, but the mess, exhaustion, and daily needs remain, don’t they? Are you feeling overwhelmed?  In our house: Recently-bought games & books need a “home,” but our shelves are overflowing. Luke is due in 2.5 weeks. My pregnancy wardrobe is slung here, there, and everywhere, […]

by Jess Connell · February 20, 2015 Last week, I had baby #7, and 7 babies in, I can say this: newborns are AMAZING. Each and every one. Here are some of the things I love, in no particular order: How they smell. The way they punch themselves in the face with both fists when they […]

Yay, it’s August! Nearly time for a new school year to begin!! We’re actually going into our tenth year of homeschooling… which is crazy! In January of 2007, we began curling up together, Ethan and I, with Sonlight books. We discovered the world together through books like Twenty and Ten (WWII– Nazis, rations, resistance), Understood Betsy (farm life, lifelong learning), A Grain of […]

by Jess Connell · November 14, 2016 As a family, we love playing games together. Good quality games: contribute to a family environment of fun and learning together, make holiday times and extended evenings with other families more fun, give a great opportunity to model appropriate behavior for winning and losing, and allow you to […]